Aterian, an Africa-focused critical minerals exploration and development company, has significantly strengthened its position in Botswana’s prospective Kalahari Copperbelt (KCB) with the acquisition of three new prospecting licences.
The licences, secured through its 90%-owned subsidiary Atlantis Metals, target sediment-hosted copper-silver (Cu-Ag) mineralisation and expand Aterian’s KCB portfolio to 10 licences spanning 2,298 km².
The newly granted licences cover 329 km² and are valid for an initial three-year term, renewable twice for additional two-year periods. Under renewal terms, 50% of each licence area must be relinquished.
Strategic positioning enhances the project’s potential, with two licences situated southwest of Sandfire Resources’ producing Motheo copper hub.
The third, located on the KCB’s northern margin, contains historically documented copper-in-soil anomalies identified by MOD Resources prior to its 2019 acquisition by Sandfire for A$167 million ($109 million).
All licences focus on the mineral-rich lower D’Kar formation, which hosts several regionally significant Cu-Ag deposits.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
